December 03, 2012

Tap, Tap

Hello, Punsters!

Great transition afoot. I've been loving my new job (hooray!), in my most favorite of cities (hooray!), and while that means I'm away from Punsir during the week, there's the solace of a job that feeds my heart and my bank account. At the end of the day, however, I usually have the energy for a shower and a half a sandwich before I fall asleep with my glasses askew. My normal, sweat shop like knitting production? Non-existant. Sometimes I will cuddle with a ball of yarn while I listen to NPR in the evenings, but that's often the extent of my yarn contact.

In commuting, I've knit several pairs of socks (I know, it's weird) but they all seem to run together. For some reason, sweaters seem daunting. I finished up a sweater I took to France; it had been waiting for three months for one sleeve. That was embarassing!

All those socks have led to great leftovers, and the project I've been enjoying the most. At the start of the year, I was giving my sock leftovers to some of the wonderful people from my my old knitting group (hi, guys! i miss you!), but somewhere between handing over little baggies of yarn, I got the craving to join in on the fun. My friends gave me their own little baggies, because like all good dealers, they understand that the first hit is free.

Oops. Getting a little carried away.

When I first mentioned my sock yarn blanket a few months ago, I got some great questions. I regret to say that I never responded, but I hope I can use this post to answer a few questions.

Question 1: What on earth are you doing over there?

Answer 1: Living in a tiny apartment with a super awesome roommate. Apologies for the box in the corner. That's not my sofa, but my roommate is kind enough to let me drape knitting all over stuff.

Question 2: Um, E, I meant- what are you doing with the knitting?

Answer 2: Oh, HA. Right. Each of the squares in the picture above are knit individually, and then joined together. I've been crocheting the seams, but that's because I'm lazy and it's speedier than seaming.

Question 3: Are you cracked? All that seaming?

Answer 3: Probably. But I also like sewing together knitwear so there you go.

Question 4: But seriously, what's with the squares?

Answer 4: Glad you asked!

Step 1: Get about 20 grams of left over sock yarn and needles that give you a comfortable drape. I'm using US 2s, so normal people probably want a 4 or 5. Cast on 10-12 stitches and work in garter stitch for about 2 inches. Bind off all stitches and do not break yarn. Turn the piece 90 degrees to the left and using the last loop from your bind off, pick up and knit along the side of the work. Knit all rows until the piece is about as long as it is tall. On next RS row, bind off all stitches, and repeat the pick up and knit row after turning the piece 90 degrees. Repeat these steps twice more, then bind off everything and break yarn. Square complete!

Keep the finished squares in a giant basket, until they threaten to take over your wee bedroom, then roll around in them before starting to sew them together. Crazy Knitting Lady Achievement: unlocked!